Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prof. Abubakar Sadiq Gombe, yesterday fired back at attempts to use the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) online portal as an instrument for resolving internal party leadership disputes.
He declared unequivocally that no digital registry maintained by the electoral umpire has the constitutional authority to determine who leads a political party in Nigeria.
Gombe spoke with journalists in Abuja immediately after INEC convened a consultative meeting with the leadership of registered political parties.
He used the occasion to draw a firm legal and constitutional line between the Commission’s administrative functions and the sovereign right of parties to govern their own internal affairs.
“The issue is not about the INEC portal. It is about the party itself. The party has organs that regulate its day-to-day running,” the SDP chairman said.
He anchored his position on a succession of Supreme Court judgments that have consistently held that intra-party affairs remain beyond INEC’s regulatory reach.
Gombe identified the SDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) as the party’s principal executing organ and the sole body vested with the authority of the National Convention, while the National Working Committee (NWC) handles the day-to-day administration of party affairs.
His remarks were pointedly directed at the circumstances surrounding the expulsion of three senior party officials, including Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, whose removal from the party has been at the centre of the SDP’s recent internal turbulence.
Gombe said the expulsions were carried out strictly in accordance with due process, through a properly constituted disciplinary committee that afforded each of the affected officials a full and fair hearing.
According to him, the three officials refused to participate in the disciplinary proceedings and subsequently failed to exercise their rights of appeal within the five working days stipulated under Article 19 of the SDP’s constitution, a lapse he said effectively sealed their fate under the party’s own rules.
“The NWC currently has 11 members after four were disciplined, while the National Auditor resigned and tendered an apology. Three others, including Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam, were expelled,” he said.
Gombe expressed particular satisfaction with the disposition of the new INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, saying his legal background made him well suited to appreciate and uphold the constitutional boundaries that insulate party internal affairs from external regulatory interference.
“We are happy that the INEC chairman reiterated their commitment to the rule of law and respect for parties’ internal affairs. We have good days ahead,” Gombe said.
He also took a moment to thank Nigerians and the media for their continued commitment to democracy, good governance and the independence of political parties, describing both as essential pillars of a functioning democratic order.
